Top US astronomers: Alien life to be discovered within 20 years

Seth Shostak participating in "Death From the Skies" panel at CSICON 2011 in New Orleans, LA, USA. (Image from wikipedia.org / photo by BDEngler) / Wikipedia

Two of the United States’ top astronomers appeared before Congress this week, telling lawmakers that the chance of discovering life on other planets is nearly inevitable, and that it may happen within two decades.

According to ABC News, Dan Werthimer of the SETI Research Center
at the University of California, Berkeley, called for more
funding to be allocated to the search for extraterrestrial life,
since he is “close to 100 percent” certain that
primitive, microbial life exists elsewhere in the galaxy.

Speaking to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
on Wednesday, Werthimer – the director of SETI, which stands for
“Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence” – stated, “It
would be bizarre if we are alone.”

Considering that scientists have discovered billions of
Earth-like planets within our own Milky Way galaxy alone – and
they are located within a “habitable” zone suitable for life –
Werthimer suggested, “the universe is likely to be teeming
with primitive life.”

As noted by the Huffington Post, Werthimer also submitted written
testimony to lawmakers, in which he noted that the search for
intelligent life also deserved more funding from Congress.

"In the last 50 years, evidence has steadily mounted that the
components and conditions we believe necessary for life are
common and perhaps ubiquitous in our galaxy," he said.
"The possibility that life has arisen elsewhere, and perhaps
evolved intelligence, is plausible and warrants scientific
inquiry."

Meanwhile, the SETI Institute’s Seth Shostak agreed with his
colleague, telling Congress that with trillions of planets in the
galaxy, the chances are too good to discount the idea that alien
life exists.

“If you extrapolate on the planets they discovered, there are
a trillion planets in the galaxy. That’s a lot of places for
life,” Shostak said, as quoted by ABC. “We know that the
majority of stars have planets,” but what “fraction of stars has
planets that are more like the earth? It might be one in
five.”

“The chances of finding it I think are good and if that
happens it will happen in the next 20 years depending on the
financing,” he added in written testimony, according to
BuzzFeed.

Werthimer stated that even if advanced alien life has been
sending radio or laser signals throughout the galaxy, human
technology is not capable yet of receiving them. But both
scientists agreed that there’s no way aliens have already visited
Earth.

“I don’t think that that would be something all the
governments would have managed to keep a secret,” Shostak
told Congress. “If they were really here I think everyone
would know that.”